A Child Named Matt
by WatchingAsYouFall
Summary: There was once a boy named Mail. Nobody knew what happened to him, but when he disappeared, the child named Matt was born. Rated for character death and child abuse Language in some chapters violence in later chapters. Complete!
1. A Boy Named Mail

**[[A/N Ok, I said I had a fic in my head and this is the beginning of it. The idea roughly came from Living in Fantasy's story, Saviour. Please don't expect updates to come as quickly as they did with The Hardest Thing In The World because I had a plan for that one, this just popped ito my head one night at stupid o' clock in the morning. This first chapter is in the POV of an OC that I made up (one of the only things in the story other than the plot that I hold claim to) the rest will be in 3rd person(no POV). Enjoy! xx]]**

Disclaimer: Not much has changed. I obviously still don't own Death Note or there would be spin off series with Matt and Mello as the main characters.

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**Chapter 1 - The Boy Named Mail**

Cascading.

Erasing.

Falling.

Sprawling.

Life goes on.

Time doesn't stop.

My life is crumbling, cascading around me. I don't know what to do. A small child cries on the floor below me, the shockwaves of pain that float up through the floorboards make me tremble in fear.

I hear a man scream at the baby. "Shut the fuck up," he yells. I hear the sound of an open hand slamming against skin. The baby is quiet.

"What have you done?" a woman wails. The answer is all too obvious.

I squeeze my eyes shut and pull my knees to my chest as I sit behind the door.

The man is my father. The woman, my mother. The baby was my sister. I couldn't protect her. I look across to the wardrobe in the corner of the room. The door opens slightly.

"Don't," I say. "Stay in there. No matter what, you have to stay in there. When daddy falls asleep, you have to go. You have to run. You have to get out of here."

A pair of scared green eyes looks out of the small crack in the doors. My little brother is the one I need to protect now.

I hear the clunking footsteps coming up the stairs. I know I'm next. "Don't watch," I say. "Just stay in there." He closes the door of the wardrobe. My heart is racing. I pray he doesn't come in here. I pray he walks straight past and forgets he has two sons. My prayers are falling on deaf ears. A few seconds later I hear him walk towards the door and stop on the other side.

"Open the door," comes his drunken growl.

I stand quickly and open the door. My father is a tall, imposing man. His red-brown hair is wild and his brown eyes are cold. The brown eyes he didn't pass to any of his children. The red-brown hair was all he ever gave to his sons apart from black eyes and split lips. My eyes grow wider as he backs me into the room.

"What do you think you're staring at, boy?" he asks. His voice is harsh from smoking too many cigarettes.

"N...Nothing... Sir..." I answer, terror evident in my voice. He doesn't care. His hand collides with my face. Tears sting as they run down my face.

"Stop crying boy!" my father yells as he slaps my face once again. I force the tears to cease, my mind is racing and my heart beat is escalating. The only thing I can focus on, think about, is keeping my father away from my brother.

"You worthless piece of shit," he says to me, his face isn't even an inch away from my face, the alcohol and cigarette smell is making me feel sick. I try to keep the tears that threaten to fall at bay. He hits me again, this time with a clenched fist. I'm shocked and a flood of tears fall from my eyes. l know this means he's going to strike me again and sure enough within a few seconds his steel capped boot has hit me in the ribs and thrown me into the wall. I hear a crack; I'm guessing it's one of my ribs. He grabs my arm just above the elbow and yanks me towards him. I feel a surge of searing pain shoot down my arm and hear a small pop.

"You weak, stupid child, I should have done this a long time ago," He says as he kicks me again, this time in the leg. I feel my knee pop out of the socket. I know this is it. This is my final day alive.

He hits me until I can no longer move. He beats me until breathing is hard. His punches rain down on me until I can no longer tell if it's day or night. Time looses all meaning to me. The hits seem to slow down.

There's darkness.

I can hear sirens in the distance.

I hear my mother cry.

I hear a gunshot.

There's screaming.

"Where's Mail!" I hear.

I struggle to open my eyes. The wardrobe is still closed. I black out again.

***

The boy named Mail stayed shut in the wardrobe until he could escape unseen. He left in the middle of the night and headed towards the countryside. He didn't watch, he didn't leave until he knew he could escape.

The boy named Mail slept that night under the stars in a field. He cried himself to sleep over his lost baby sister. He cried over his older brother, lost trying to protect him. He cried over his mother, the poor woman who had lost her sons and daughter at the hands of one man. The man who she had swore to love forever. The man who had gave her children to begin with.

The boy named Mail was just 8 years old and he had lost his entire family in the space of an hour. He would never have a family again. He would never have an older brother to protect him and a younger sister to fight for.

The boy named Mail would no longer be called Mail. He made a decision, a decision no child should need to make. He decided that from that day onward, he would be known as Matt.

The boy named Mail died that day. His body would never be found, all that would be known about him is that in the short time he lived in the world, he suffered more than any one person should suffer in a lifetime.

The child named Matt sat up. He had to find somewhere to go. He had to find food. He had to leave the boy named Mail behind and escape.

* * *


	2. Four Years Later

**Chapter 2 - Four Years Later**

The child named Matt sat up in bed. He looked over to the clock it was barely 6am. He ran a hand through his messy, shoulder length red hair and sighed. He was no longer a child. His 13th birthday was in a few days, he was turning into a young man.

_It had been four years since Matt had been Mail. It had been four years since he had all but witnessed his father beat his older brother to death. It had been four years since he left the misery that was supposed to be his refuge. It had been almost four years since he was rescued by an man that was barely a legal adult, yet when he was stopped and asked why he was on the streets, on his own, so late at night in such a bad neighbourhood, the strange boy had simply said, "you would come to that conclusion, wouldn't you, officer?"_

_The strange boy had brought him to a large house. "This is where I live," he had informed Matt. "This is where you can live from now on, assuming you past several entry exams, of course." As the boy guided Matt through the large doors into the house, an elderly man greeted them. _

"_Watari," the strange boy said, Matt guessed the old man's name was Watari. "Please show this young man here to a room and have the cook make him something to eat. In the morning he shall be sitting the entrance exams."_

"_Yes, Ryuzaki," the old man named Watari answered before leading Matt away, out of the entrance hall and up a long, winding staircase. _

"_What is your name?" The old man named Watari asked. _

_Matt looked up at the old man, his face was lined, and his eyes were a watery grey. _

"_Matt," he said to the old man. _

_The old man smiled. "There's something interesting about you," he said. "Something special. I am Watari. Please follow me."_

_The old man, Watari, led Matt up a flight of stairs and into a room on the other end of the hall. _

"_This is where you will sleep tonight. The cook will bring you something to eat and in the morning, you will sit preliminary examinations to decide if you can stay here at Wammy's house," the old man said._

_Matt nodded. He understood exactly what the old man was saying. What he didn't understand, however, was why the old man and the strange boy wanted him here. _

_Matt was glad for the warmth, the shelter and the food, yet confusion still floated in and out of his thoughts. _

_As the child named Matt lay his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, short flashes of memories that seemed too distant shot through his mind. Memories that he knew were all too real and had happened not too long ago. _

_He saw the happy family that the outside world saw when they saw Jenna and Kayren Jeevas and their three children; Kai, the oldest son, the protector of his younger siblings, Mail, the young, cheeky redhead who was always stuck in a game, and baby Nyssa, a baby girl who was always smiling and laughing. _

_He saw what went on behind closed doors, the things that the outside world wouldn't dare dream were happening. He experienced the punches in the arm that he learned was so the bruises could be covered. He saw the scattering of rolled paper lying on the coffee table in the sitting room with a fine dusting of white powder, barely visible._

_He saw the look in his mother's eyes each night as she rocked a screaming Nyssa back to sleep. He saw the tears, the pain, the anguish, the need to escape, yet knew nothing different. _

_He saw his older brother's body lying battered and broken on his bedroom floor, his chest raising and falling shakily before another kick or punch would come down and connect with a rib or his face. _

_Matt shut his eyes. He could feel the tears and swore not to think of it. And he didn't for another four years. _

Matt ran his hand through his reddish-brown hair that had slightly dulled over the years. He picked his yellow tinted goggles up from the table next to his bed and placed them over his head, covering his eyes. He opened the drawer next to his bed and pulled out a red and black striped top. Slipping it over his head, he sighed. He had been living at Wammy's for four years now. He had made his way from dead last in the ratings to third. He had showed everybody that he was the best in his field, computer technology and he had tried so very hard to put his past behind him.

He had succeeded in avoiding having to share a room with anyone so far, mostly because he would complain very loudly to Wammy or Roger that other people in his room would distract him from homework. This time however, he knew there was no getting out of it.

He had been called to Roger's office before breakfast that morning. He knew he wasn't in trouble because he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, let alone illegal (which was usually the only reason Matt ever got into trouble.) As he stood outside the large oak door that led inside the office, he racked his brains for an idea of what was happening.

"Come in," Roger called from inside.

Matt entered the room quietly. Roger's office always seemed like a slightly foreboding place. The only window in the room faced west, away from the rising sun, so natural light rarely got into the room before noon. The dark wood shelves and furniture also darkened the room considerably. Glancing around, Matt saw a boy who looked to be around his age sat on the sofa in the corner of the room. His legs were spread bout waist length apart and his elbows rested on his knees. In his hands, he held a rosary.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Matt asked, eyeing the strange blonde boy suspiciously.

"Yes," Roger said. "Matt, this is Mello. He will be your new room mate."

Matt looked incredulously between the blonde, Mello and Roger.

"Impossible. I don't share my room."

"You do now. I would like you to take Mello to the breakfast room and then show him to his classes. By the end of the school day, your bedroom will be set up for the both of you."

"What about my computers? Where am I going to put them? And what if I need to take the tower of one of my desktops apart? Where am I going to put it all if there's another bed and desk in the room, I've barely got enough room as it is!"

"Matt, there is no room for compromise in this matter. L has specifically requested that you share a room with Mello. Now, breakfast."

Matt stared at Roger for a few seconds before turning to Mello and saying, "Well, are you gonna sit there forever or do you want to eat?"

[[A/N Due to personal circumstances, I don't know when I'll be able to update. I'll try and update as regularly as possible though. Thanks to everyone who's been reading my fics and thanks to everyone who's subscribed to me as an author.]]


	3. The Room Mate

**Chapter 3 – The Room Mate**

It was 3:20am. Matt was sat at his desk rewriting an essay that was due in the next morning when the bedroom light was flicked on.

"Ok, listen," Matt's new roommate said in a slightly annoyed tone. "I've put up with you tapping away on that stupid computer for about 6 hours. There are two things I don't really function well without. One is chocolate, the other is sleep. In case you didn't notice, I didn't eat all that much chocolate today, therefore, me sleeping is your best chance of survival."

Matt looked sceptically at his new room mate before standing up. Although Mello was older, Matt was taller by a few inches.

"Look, Blondie," Matt said. "In case you didn't quite catch it earlier, I don't have room mates. I don't like people in my personal space and I sure as hell don't like transsexual guys telling me what I can and can't do in my bedroom. I don't like being told when to do my homework and I don't like sissy bitches like you trying to get me to do things your way. Just because you think 3am is a good time to go to sleep, doesn't mean everybody else in the orphanage does. I don't. I think 3am is a good time for me to do an English essay I've been putting off for two weeks. If you have a problem with that, go see Roger, maybe he'll move you."

Mello stared at Matt for a few seconds before turning and getting back into bed, this time burying his head under his pillow. Matt smirked before turning back to his essay. He knew it wasn't Mello's fault he had to share his room, but that didn't matter. Not to Matt.

(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)

"I heard L's coming in today," Matt heard as he entered the dining area the next morning.

"He wants to talk to the top three, has anyone seen the leader board yet?"

"Please, we all know who's on top."

Matt sighed as he wandered to an empty table in the corner. He knew who was number one, what he didn't know was where he stood on the leader board. Not that it mattered; Wammy always spoke to him when he and L came to the orphanage.

"Who's L?" Mello asked as he walked past Matt.

"Are you serious?" Matt asked, looking up at his new room mate.

Mello looked down at the floor and nodded.

"L is the world's best detective. You aren't here so you can get the best education or because Roger feels sorry for you. You're here to be the best. You're here to be L."

"So who is the best?" Mello asked as he sat down opposite the redhead.

"That would be Near. He's the kid sat over there," Matt pointed to a small, white haired child on the other side of the room. "Near's been the top of Wammy's for almost two years. People with confidence complexes often try really hard to surpass him, only to fail miserably. That guy Ben over there, surrounded by pizza, he's usually second. He's been falling down in the ranks recently though. Last check he was fifth."

"So where do you rank?"

"About a week ago I was second, I haven't checked since. When I first came here about 4 years ago, I went in at tenth. I'm usually third."

"You don't seem to care that much."

"Good observational skills Blondie, I don't. I don't want to be L. The only way to become L is if L dies."

"Don't call me Blondie. My name is Mello," Mello said as he stood up and walked away from Matt.


	4. L Lawlilet Is a Douch Bag

**Chapter 4 – L Lawlilet Is A Douche Bag**

A few hours later, all the children of Wammy's House were congregated in the court yard. Matt was stood near the back, leaning against a wall, playing one of his handheld computer games. Mello, who still didn't really know anyone, was sat on the wall a few feet away.

"So," Mello said. "What's he like?"

"Who?" Matt asked, still too stuck in his game to really care.

"L," Mello said looking up at the redhead.

Matt pressed pause on his handheld game and looked at Mello. "L is the greatest. He's the reason I'm here. He's the reason I'm still alive."

"What did he do that was so great?"

Matt turned his game off and walked over to where Mello was stood.

"L rescued me. I was 8 years old and I had no family, I was wandering around London in the dead of night. I was stopped by a police officer in a really bad neighbourhood. The officer asked me what I was doing, why I was out so late. Then this man, barely a legal adult walks over to me and grabs my hand. He looked up at the police officer and said 'you would come to that conclusion, wouldn't you'. He led me away towards a car and put me in the back seat. He gets into the front of the car and starts to drive. I didn't know where we're going and I didn't care. I was tired. I was confused, and to be honest, all I wanted to do was sleep. But he started asking me questions. He asked me about my family, he asked me about school, he asked me what I would do if I was taken to a place where I wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again. Then he let me sleep. I don't know how long we drove for; it was still dark when I woke up. We pulled up outside here and that's when I realised I was safe."

"So he apparently saved your life, big deal," Mello said as he jumped off the wall. "What has he done that was so great for everyone else?"

"Nobody knows half of the stuff he's done. He's the world's greatest detective. He has the power of the world's police forces in his hand."

"He sounds like a douche."

Matt shook his head and turned towards the front of the congregated children.

"He's here."

(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)

"Matt," Roger said loudly as he saw the redhead trying to sneak away. "To the front please."

Sighing, Matt turned around and made his way to the front of the crowd.

"Yeah?" he said as he approached Roger.

"L and Wammy have asked to see you. They'll be in the library shortly. Please make your way there."

"Sure thing, boss," Matt said as he mock saluted Roger

"And be sure to put those games in your room on the way."

Matt rolled his eyes and nodded. As he made his way back through the crowd, he was stopped by Mello.

"What do you want, Blondie?"

"The old dude down the front told me I had to follow you to the library."

"Fine. When we get there, don't speak unless spoken to, got it?"

Mello nodded.

(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)

When Matt and Mello got to the library 10 minutes later, L and Wammy were sat at a desk in the middle of the room. On the other side of the desk was Near and two empty seats Matt assumed were for him and Mello.

"Hey Near," Matt said as he sat next to the small white haired boy. "Hi Wammy, Hi L. This is Mello. He's only been here a few days."

"Hello Mello," Near said as he pulled one of his knees up to his chest and began to twirl a lock of his hair.

Mello looked between Near and Matt before looking across to the other side of the table at Wammy and L.

The person Mello assumed to be L was sat in a crouched position on the chair. He had black hair and deep, black eyes. He had huge bags under his eyes and as far as Mello could see, he felt no need to blink. Ever.

"Please, sit down, Mello," L said.

Mello sat in the only spare chair and looked at Matt. He was looking intently at L and Wammy.

"I am L," L said. "Matt, it's good to see you again. I see you have risen in the ranks since our last visit."

"Second on my last check, but I may have slipped back down to third," Matt said, smiling slightly.

"You haven't but it's to be expected. Your teachers tell me you no longer show the same interest you once had."

Matt looked down at the ground.

"Near, we have never met. You have been here at Wammy's for five years now and have remained top for three of those five years. That is impressive."

"Thank you, L," Near said, politely, still twirling a lock of his hair.

"Mello, our newest occupant. Welcome. I have merely glanced at your file. I notice you share a room with Matt."

"Yeah, and?" Mello said rudely.

"How do you find that?" L asked, not allowing Mello's rudeness to affect him.

"Boring, maddening, annoying, would you like me to continue?"

"No thank you, I think I get the idea."

"Good."

"You are currently placed at third. How does this make you feel?"

"I didn't know it was meant to make me feel anything. This is just a school, right?"

"In essence, yes. To the authorities, yes. But to those who are serious about going into their chosen field, this is the perfect stepping stone."

"And I suppose you know what my chosen field is?"

"How can I know something that you yourself don't know yet?"

Mello stared at the man sat in front of him.

"I sense that you're unhappy with your position here, Mello."

"How can you say something like that with nothing to back it up?" Mello asked, bitterness cutting into his voice, yet again.

"Your attitude at finding out you are bottom out of the three people sat in the room is obvious. Even a five year old could assume your basic feelings."

Mello stared at L. He was right. Mello was annoyed at being third. He was even more annoyed that a stupid, game loving person like Matt was above him.

"My assumption now is that you are making a resolve. You want to be number one."

"Doesn't everyone?"

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" L said as he brought his thumb up to his mouth. "Near, Mello, would you wait outside while I speak to Matt please?"

Near stood up, wordlessly and left the room. Mello followed, almost soundlessly.

Matt looked at Wammy and L.

"Matt," Wammy said, speaking for the first time since Matt had entered the room.

"Hi," Matt said. "It's good to see you again."

"I trust you have taken Mello under your wing, showing him how life here at Wammy's works?"

Matt looked down at the floor. "To be honest, I don't like having to share my room. Mello and I don't exactly get along."

"Matt," L said, breaking his composure for a moment. "I want you to push Mello to realise his full potential. The three of you all have the necessary ability to succeed me. I want to know the future of the L name is in safe hands."

Matt stared at the black haired detective. "Sure."

"How is the computer building coming along?" Wammy asked.

"Really good; I think I've created a new firewall system for the orphanage to use. I built my first motherboard from scratch last week."

"Well done, you must show Roger that new firewall system. I'm sure he'd be interested in it."

Matt smiled at the compliment. "Thanks Wammy," he said.

"Matt, it is time to cut our meeting short. Would you show Mello in please?" L said as he dismissed the redhead.

"Sure," Matt said as he stood up.

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**A/N I'm not too sure on this chapter. I don't like the way I've written L. Concrit is more than welcome. *love and hugs to all who review***

The next chapter has scenes of violence which the faint of heart may find disturbing. If you don't like violence or get freaked out easily PLEASE take this into account before you start reading. You have been warned!


	5. Elraldo Coil and Rio de Janeiro

**Chapter 5 – Eraldo Coil and Rio de Janeiro **

Mello strutted into the room and sat in the middle chair.

"You wanted to see me?" he said to L as he sat down.

"Please, drop the attitude Mello. Life is unfair but we are now in the same situation. I am here to talk to you about your future. You have the potential to be number one. However with your attitude as it is, you will never succeed."

Mello sighed and mumbled an apology.

"I understand that you do not know that much about me, true?"

Mello nodded.

"I am L, that much, I'm sure you know. People may have you believe that I am a fraud, that I am just a voice behind a screen. That is for you to decide," L said. After a brief pause, he continued. "In my time as the world's private detective, I have solved many crimes. On principle, I do not get involved in a case unless the stakes are high. I have solved over 3500 cases since becoming L. As other alias' maybe double that number. One of these cases, one I would not have got involved in under normal circumstances, was the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases. I will tell you this story later. However, there is another case I wish to tell you about. A case that stays with me, even after all these years was one I was personally involved with under the name Eraldo Coil. There are two reasons this case stays with me. First, it was my first case under the name Coil. Secondly, the case was disturbing, to say the very least. It involved a young boy, not much older than eight years old. He never spoke. Not a word according to his parents, or at least, what I would assume was his parents. They lived in a hostel. Each morning, they would wake up and the child would be covered in blood, somebody living in the hostel would be dead and one of the child's digits would be missing. A rather grotesque case before I was involved. When I was called into the case, the parts of the boy that were missing got worse, an ear, for example was one part. Obviously, the child was in distress. Having parts of one's body detached in such a gruesome manner would be distressing for anyone. To have nobody to help you when such things were happening must be even worse."

Mello's eyes were wide in horror.

"The situation itself surrounding the case isn't important; the important thing is to know that when faced with a possible mass-murder charge, as the culprit was, people would do anything."

"Was there anything that connected the victims to the child?" Mello asked.

"The victims were black. The child was black. The only obvious connection, other than their race, was the fact they all lived in the same building."

"So why did you need to get involved?"

"The stupidity of the police in the Los Angeles BB case was laughable to me. This case however could have been better analysed by primates. The police involved destroyed several pieces of vital evidence and in some cases even misidentified victims. The first question the authorities asked me was 'do you know who's behind it?' I had been following the case and, in a way, laying-in-wait for a request to get involved.

I knew my answer would not be taken lightly; in fact, I was more than prepared for the hostility I faced. I felt it was somebody in the building, or at least somebody who knew the building well. My immediate intuition would say that the killer was a man; however, with no evidence to support this theory, I dismissed it. I also thought it would be someone seen as a very helpful person, one with many acquaintances but no close friends. I sent Watari, Wammy, to photograph the crime scenes and to retrieve the original crime scene photos from the police. I noticed something I was sure the police had missed. Around each victim was a key, except for the first victim, the janitor, the only one with a reason to hold such conspicuous amounts of keys. The keys all seemed to be for the same room; a room in the attic. A room I was told has never been unlocked. I asked Watari to go to the room and take photographs of it for me. How those keys escaped the knowledge of the police, I'll never know and I dare not comprehend. When I received the photographs, I arranged them into the area I assumed the room would take. After carefully looking at all the pictures, I came to the conclusion that the mother was to blame. After her arrest, she admitted to the crimes. The child eventually died and his mother is now serving a life sentence."

"The kid's mother did it? She cut her child into pieces?"

"I said it was a grotesque case. I, myself wanted to find another explanation."

Mello looked at the young detective that he now knew went by at least three different names.

"Another case that I am particularly fond of, no, not a case I am fond of, that would suggest I like the case. It a case that will be with me forever; a case involving a serial killer in Rio de Janeiro. The culprit in this case was in the end seen to be non-compos-mentis, I trust I don't need to tell you what that means?"

"No. I know what that means. It means he's crazy."

"Not entirely. It means the person's not mentally competent, not of a sound mind. This particular person had cannibalistic and vampire-like tendencies. Serial killers often specialize in manipulation. This one in particular was very good at it. The manipulation the police force suffered before I was called in was unreal, of course, they didn't believe that I alone could solve the case and so they asked for the help of two other detectives, detectives that would eventually loose their names to me. One I have already mentioned, Eraldo Coil. The other was a man named Danuve. This case was a breaking point for me. This case was the case when I acquired the names of the top three detectives in the world."

L paused for a moment and began to chew his thumbnail. Whether he did this to create a dramatic pause or to think about how to continue his story, Mello didn't know. All he knew was he was eager to hear the rest of the story.

"The suspect in this case was a female; that in itself is highly unusual for a serial killer working alone. The police didn't pick up on this. They were looking for a male. She was a socially disjointed woman, someone who didn't fit in well in her society. An ex-prostitute, she also had no self respect. Her first victim, if it could be called that, was her own child. The police didn't call it a victim, purely because the child was already dead at the time. The Brazilian police don't recognise infanticide as a crime. I do, however and it was the missing link that the police were looking for; the basic link that both Coil and Danuve missed. The second victim was a 4 year old girl. She was found in an abandoned warehouse, stripped to her underwear. Her face had been cut to pieces and she had been stabbed in the chest several times.

Obviously the police had performed a SA test which confirmed the child was not molested or sexually assaulted, this should have pointed them to a female, or at least a homosexual male.

The third victim was a six year old boy. He was found 6 days later in a field. He too was stripped to his underwear and his face was mutilated, this suggested to the police that a serial killer was behind the murders. Again an SA test was performed and came back negative. My deductions at this point would suggest the murderer was almost defiantly a woman; however the police continued to look for a male assailant. The families of the victims and all those close to them were obviously distressed. The entire community wanted the killer caught. The next victim, the oldest victim, was a 12 year old male. Unlike the other victims, he was not stripped down to his underwear and so the police didn't connect the case to the previous one. They're assumption was that it was a copycat. After the fifth victim was killed, the authorities asked Coil to get involved, as well as Danuve and myself. The victim immediately after our involvement became public was the youngest, a two year old female. Her eyes were gouged out and the rest of her body was horribly mutilated. When the killer was caught, she confessed to, in all, 9 murders. Only seven bodies were found."

Mello looked in awe at the detective.

"What about the Los Angeles B.B. murder cases?" he asked, hurriedly.

"That is yet another case when an alias was used. That was the first case I introduced myself as Ryuzaki."

I couldn't help myself, I wanted to know what other stories L told Mello and so I made them up. I think they're pretty good myself.


	6. The Secret Past Of Mihael Keehl

**Chapter 6 – The Secret Past of Mihael Keehl**

Mello made his way back to his room. It was now time for lights out and he had made up his mind to take L's advice. He decided the easiest way to do that was to let his new room mate in on the parts of his life that he wished to forget, the parts of his life that had made him bitter, cynical and hostile towards people.

When he walked into his bedroom, the lights were out; the only sources of light were the stars in the night sky and the dull glare of the several computer screens in front of Matt.

"Hey," Mello said as he threw himself down onto his bed.

Matt waved his hand in Mello's general direction and continued what he was doing.

"So, I spoke to L earlier."

"Yeah, I was there, remember, I told you he wanted to talk to you?"

Mello inhaled loudly; What was Matt's problem? He thought.

"Look, Matt, I'm trying to be nice here. Could you at least extend that courtesy and TRY to be civil?"

Matt looked up from his computer screen, remembering what Wammy said about taking Mello under his wing, he sighed and bit back the comment he was about to say.

"Sorry, Mello. It's just that this project is really important to me and my grades. If you could give me a few minutes to finish it, We can talk all you want about how you think L is a douche bag and how much you hate Wammy's."

Matt turned back to his computer and sighed. As he added the finishing touches to the project he was working on, he shut his laptop and proceeded to set up a new firewall system on the desktop.

A few minutes later, he shut down his desk top and sat on his bed, facing Mello.

"You have my undivided attention," he said sarcastically.

"I was thinking, since I'm going to be sharing this box with you for as long as we both are here, we should at least try and get along."

"And how do you suggest we do that, since it's pretty obvious that you and I have absolutely nothing in common."

Mello sighed, this was going to be harder than he thought.

"Well, everyone's here for a reason, right?"

"Yeah," Matt said, rolling his eyes at the obviousness of the statement.

"So, maybe that's why they made you share your room with me. Maybe it's our past that puts us where we are now."

"Well, it obviously isn't our personalities," Matt replied, sarcastically.

"Matt, how old are you?"

"Almost 13, why?"

"I just turned 13 in December. When I was 10, my dad died in a train wreck. My mother was distraught for months afterwards. We didn't have Christmas that year. I can remember because there was this really cool chocolate making thing I wanted." Mello stopped for a few seconds before continuing. "2 years later, on Christmas eve, just after my birthday, my mother was on her way home from the store when she was stabbed by a teenager. He was run over by a car on the same day. He'd killed my mom for the sake of a few pieces of paper that had my Christmas list written on it. My mom and I had nothing really. I grew up in a bad neighbourhood where everybody was unemployed. We never stayed in a house for more than a couple of months because my parents couldn't afford the rent. We'd skip town every few months and go to another bad neighbourhood and as a result, I was never in the same school for long. By the time I was eight I had gotten used to sometimes having to steal things, food, books, stuff we needed, stuff I wanted.

When I turned 11, I stole a gun. It wasn't loaded and I didn't take any ammo. I just wanted the gun. I walked into school one day and these guys who used to bully me started to walk over to me. I decided that the next day, I'd take my gun into school with me. The next day they beat me up so bad it took me almost twice as long to walk home."

Matt stood up and sat next to Mello. He could tell this was the first time Mello had told anyone about any of this.

"Those guys were idiots anyway. Y'know. I found out after my mom died that one of them was related to the guy who killed her."

"Dude…"

"I don't want your sympathy, Matt. I want you to know why I don't like you. You remind me of those guys. You didn't even know me and you didn't want me in your life, in your room, I bet you didn't even want me in your damn school."

"That's not it. You just… the last person I ever shared a room with was my older brother and that was four years ago, before I came here. I don't hate you, I don't dislike you, hell, I don't even know you and you've told me some things I wouldn't tell people."

"I can remember realising my dad was never coming back. It was a few months after he died. I asked my mom where he was and she burst into tears. I was 11 at the time. All I could do was but my arm around her shoulders and say, 'don't worry mommy, he'll be home soon.' But he wasn't. I realised after I said it that it was the wrong thing to do. I realised that maybe he wasn't coming back."

By this point, Mello had tears in his eyes, but his voice didn't break as he relayed his memories to Matt.

"My mom turned to drink. Every morning I'd leave for school and she'd still be in bed and every afternoon, I'd come home and she be sat in a darkened room, drunk. Just before she died, she stopped drinking. She began to care about her life a little bit more. She began to take a bit more notice of me. Sometimes, I think, maybe if she'd carried on drinking, she'd still be alive. I don't know if it's better or worse."

The tears began to fall.

"Sometimes I think it's entirely my fault. If I hadn't asked for a gift from that store, she wouldn't be dead. If I wasn't there for her to have to get sober, she'd never have left the house. If I…"

For the first time, Mello stopped. He looked at his fingernails; he looked at his feet; and finally, he looked at Matt.

"I think I've said enough. Good night Matt." And with that, Mello lay down, on top of the covers and pulled his knees up to his chest. Matt stood up and closed the curtains before making his way over to Mello's bed and lying down next to the blonde. Mello was shaking as he cried. Matt gently stroked the blonde's hair. From that moment on, Matt and Mello considered themselves friends. Well, almost.


	7. Matt's Firewall

**Chapter 7 – Matt's Firewall**

When Mello woke up the next morning, he found he still had the clothes from the night before on. He had slept on top of the covers and he was almost positive Matt had shared the bed with him.

Mello turned over to face Matt's bed; it was made, probably unslept in. Sitting up, he realised the redhead wasn't in the room, as he began to wonder where Matt was, his question was answered. Matt walked into the bedroom from their bathroom, his hair was wet and he had a towel draped over his shoulders. He was, however, wearing jeans, which made the situation somewhat more bearable for Mello.

"Matt," Mello said as he tore his eyes away from the redhead. "Thanks, for last night."

"No problem, have you seen my PSP?"

"Last time I saw it, you had it."

"Dammit," Matt mumbled as he threw the wet towel to the floor and walked out of the room.

Mello threw himself backwards onto his bed. He hadn't meant to open up that much to Matt. Least of what he wanted was sympathy.

Sighing, he sat back up and ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be a long, if not awkward day.

*

Matt took his usual seat in the dining room and pulled a bag of potato chips towards him. As he silently ate the chips, he pulled his Gameboy out of his pocket and loaded up his game. Unnoticed by him, Mello sat down opposite him.

"Did you find your game?" he asked.

"Nope," Matt replied.

"Why are you so annoyed at having to share your room with someone?"

"Like I said last night, the last person I shared my room with was my brother."

"So, what's the big deal? So he didn't get in here and you haven't seen him for a while."

"Mello, shut up," Matt said as he stood up, leaving his potato chips at the table, he walked out of the dining room.

*

Mello wandered around the school looking for Matt for most of the day. He couldn't understand why the redhead was being so quiet about things. It wasn't like Mello had said anything wrong… Had he?

*

Matt was sat on his bed nursing a swollen and bloodied hand when Mello finally decided to back to their room.

"What happened?" Mello asked when he saw Matt's hand.

"Nothing, it's fine," Matt replied, wrapping a bandage around his hand.

"If that's nothing, I'd hate to see what actually puts you in pain," Mello replied shortly as he sat down on his bed.

Hours passed in silence. Matt played his video games and Mello studied. Neither were particularly happy with the silence, but it was better than the impending argument that both could feel coming.

Mello eventually broke the silence.

"So what happened to your Mom and Dad?" he asked in what would have been a casual voice.

"I don't want to talk about it," Matt answered as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes.

"Ok. Do you have any other brothers or sisters?" Mello asked in the same tone as before.

"Stop asking me about my family. I don't want to talk about them."

Mello stood up and stood at the foot of Matt's bed, next to the wall. "Why not? I told you about my family. You're family can't be any worse than that."

Matt put his game down and stood up. He stood in front of Mello, barely an inch separated them.

"Look," Matt said quietly and dangerously. "I don't want to tell you about my family, I don't want to tell you about my past and I sure as hell don't want you to know what's going through my head right now, ok. Just leave me alone, Mello. I don't care about you and I don't care about your stupid life."

Turning around, Matt walked towards his desk and turned on his computer.

"I was just trying to be nice, Matt, but if you don't want me to, fine. I can be a jerk too. If you don't want to tell me about your fucked up family, that's fine."

Matt stayed silent.

"It's not like I actually care about what you have to say anyway. I mean, there's only so many times you hear about someone's alcoholic mother before you get bored."

Sighing, Matt opened a document on his computer, ignoring Mello's comments completely.

"Or maybe it was your dad. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time I'd have heard about someone's dad being a homosexual freak who knocks their kids about, getting pissed off because he has to fuck guys to get drugs."

Matt closed his eyes. Mello was really starting to annoy him, if only he would shut up and let Matt work in peace.

"I've got it!" Mello said enthusiastically. "Mommy and Daddy decided that little Matty wasn't worth their time and effort anymore. They needed their alcohol and drugs so they thought instead of selling themselves, they'd let their dealers do whatever the hell they like with you."

Matt stood up. He was getting no where fast and Mello was showing no signs of letting up. He walked towards his bed, walking past Mello.

"That's it, isn't it? You were a drug lord's bitch. I bet drugs weren't the only thing he stuck up your ass," Mello said smirking as he saw Matt freeze up.

Matt spun around on his heel so he was facing Mello. Within a second, Mello was pinned against the wall by Matt's hand.

"Give it up, Mello. I don't want to talk about it and if you keep winding me up, I will kill you."

Mello smirked slightly. "If you're going to kill me, do it, don't stand around talking about…"

As Matt released his grip on Mello's throat, his fist connected with the blonde's jaw. Mello dropped to the floor, shocked at the force Matt had put behind the punch. Matt kicked Mello in the stomach and rolled the blonde onto his back before putting his foot onto Mello's neck, almost cutting off the blonde's air supply and eventually making him fall unconscious.

* * *

[[A/N Ok, I know that's sort of a cliff hanger but here's another one... I don't know when I'll be able to update next. I'm moving on Monday (17th) and I won't have internet access for god knows how long. I promise I'll update when I get a chance though... Reviews will make me want the internet more *hinthint* and may mean I update quicker, lol]]


	8. How Do You Like Me Now?

**Chapter 8 – How Do You Like Me Now?**

The next day, at Wammy's, Mello was the centre of attention. His fight with Matt had led to a broken nose and a very bruised face. He was found unconscious in his and Matt's bedroom almost an hour after their fight when the carers were checking everyone was in bed. He stayed in the hospital dormitory that night and against the nurse's best efforts, insisted he be allowed to go to classes the next day.

And so with his face battered and bruised, Mello made his way to English literature, his first class that he shared with Matt.

As he walked into the classroom, Matt put his head down. He was the only person in the class who didn't ask what had happened.

Mello looked over at Matt. The redheads head was down and his goggles were pulled down over his eyes.

"Matt and I had a fight, it appears he believes in fighting dirty," Mello said as he glared at the redhead.

"Sit down, everyone," the teacher said loudly.

Everyone took their seats and Mello made his way over to an empty seat on the other side of the room.

After a few minutes, the class had settled into doing their work and Matt felt it was ok to lift his head. As he did, a note landed on his table. Looking around quickly, he couldn't see who had thrown it his way.

"_How do you like me now?"_ it read. He knew exactly who it was from.

Matt hurried from his class the moment they were dismissed. The second he was outside, he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and sighed as he lit one up.

"Matt," someone called from behind him. As he turned around, he was punched squarely in the face.

"What the fuck?" he said as he tried to stop the blood dripping on to his cigarette. "Who the hell do you think you are, Mark?"

"Me? Who do you think you are beating up a kid for no good reason? What did Mello ever do to you?"

"If Mello has an issue with me I'm sure he can sort it out himself. This is between me and him," Matt said before kicking the boy named Mark in the shin and walking away to finish his cigarette in peace.

"Matt, Roger told me he wants to speak with you," A girl said as Matt walked into the dining room a few minutes later.

Looking around Matt sighed. Mello was surrounded by a large gang of boys, all of which were staring at Matt while Mello was sat wearing a smirk and eating chocolate.

"Fucking ass," Matt said as he turned around and walked out of the room.


	9. Real Meanings

[[A/N Wow… it has been a long time hasn't it… I'm sorry. And this is a really bad update too… If anyone is still reading this, you're awesome, really you are and to make up for the lack of updates you've got and will continue to get for a while, I'm going to post some more random, fluffy nonsense for you all xx]]

**Chapter 9 – Real Meanings**

_**Matt**_

"_Holy fuck, why am I so wound up about him? Why does it matter what he thinks? He's a fucking dick anyway. I can't believe I have to share my room with that fucking dick. What was L thinking? No, wait. I know what L was thinking. He wasn't thinking. How can a guy like L think me sharing my room with someone like Mello be a good idea. It isn't. _

_I need to calm down. I need to relax. I need to rip his head off his shoulders and show him that he can't walk all over me and treat me like a piece of shit. No, that would mean I'm just like him. Ignoring him is probably the best option."_

I make my way back to my room, yes, that's right, MY room, hoping and praying that Mello isn't there yet. The last thing I need right now is him there, being smug about getting me into trouble. Luckily, he isn't.

I sit down on my bed and pull out my DS, as if on cue, Mello walks in, a stupid smirk on his face as if to say "I won, what are you gonna do about it?"

As he stares at me, I can tell he's dying to say something. I want him to. I'm sure I can be the bigger person and not rise to the bait. Couldn't I?

"So I heard that Roger guy wanted to talk to you," he said.

Yeah, right. As if he didn't know. I say nothing; silence has almost always gotten me out of trouble.

"Does your nose still hurt from where Mark hit you earlier?" he asked. The fucking coward, I bet he asked Mark to punch me because he was scared I might hit him again. I wouldn't, but I bet that's what he's thinking. Idiots always think like that.

Again, I answer him with silence. I know it's going to wind him up and I know the taunts are just going to get worse, but it doesn't matter… I am the bigger person… I hope.

"Well, it doesn't matter now anyway, it's not like we're going to be sharing a room for much longer. And my classes are being changed around so we'll never have to see each other again."

Good, I think to myself. I'd be glad to get rid of him. Life has been nothing but a battle since he strolled into my life, although I know it isn't his fault. He didn't ask to share a room with me. He didn't ask to be the second smartest kid at Wammy's. He didn't ask to have this inferiority complex that makes him want to kill anyone who's better than him.

But he did ask for me to open up to him. That annoyed me. He did continue to push until I snapped, which takes a lot. He did tell me about his family and his past, which explains a lot.

I could hear him stood behind me, watching over my shoulder as I tried to finish my essay, cracking his chocolate in such an irritating way it's almost unbearable. I shut down my computer and stood up. I couldn't handle being in that box of a room with him anymore.

I left the room and wandered down towards the courtyard. I wasn't supposed to smoke there, but I did anyway. As I walked out of the orphanage and into the courtyard, I saw Mark and his little henchmen picking on some of the younger kids. I was never one to get involved in other people's fights or whatever, but I don't think it counts when it's 8 teenagers onto 3 ten year olds.

"Mark, leave 'em alone," I said as I walked over. As Mark and his friends turned to face me, the three kids ran off. I looked between Mark and two of the bigger guys flanking him.

"Look, boys," Mark said. "Matty's come back for round two."

I said nothing. Instead, I glared at the two larger kids who were walking towards me. _"Fuck,"_ I thought. _"I've got no chance against these."_

"So that's how you get your kicks, eh," I said. "Picking on little kids until someone nearer half your size comes along. You really are a coward, Mark."

I know what to expect and I wasn't disappointed. A shower of fists rain down on my head and into my stomach. I feel my nose crack and break, I can taste the blood in my mouth, but I'm still standing. They still haven't knocked me down.

"Stop it," I hear someone growl. I recognise the voice, I know I do. As the punches stop, I fall to the floor, face down on the grass.

_**Mello**_

"_The idiot. Why did he have to say something to them? Roger's gonna think I set this up, I know he is. Worse than that, Matt's going to think I set this up, fuck!"_

Matt's lying on the floor, he's covered in blood, lying face down in the grass looking pathetic. I feel some sort of empathy. I throw his arm over my shoulder and drag him inside. I know I have to take him to the nurse's office because if I don't I'll be the prime suspect. I know Mark and his friends won't admit to this, of course, but it's better for them to be blamed than me.

"What happened here?" the nurse asks as I push open the door with my shoulder and throw Matt down onto the bed.

"A few kids beat him up," I say, more than aware that she doesn't believe me. I sigh, heavily. "I didn't do this."

The nurse looks at me sceptically. She thinks I'm lying and she wants to know how this happened. She looks at me and says, "Mello, you can leave now."

My eyes widen in shock. "I'm not going anywhere, I need to know that Matt'll be ok," I say, defiantly.

She looks at the redhead lying on the bed and looks back at me before letting out a resigned sigh and nodding. "Ok, you can stay, but only because if you did do this, you would want to be out of here as quickly as possible."

I sit down in the chair next to the bed. Matt already has dark rings forming around his eyes and his nose is swollen pretty badly.

I settle myself in for a long night, I can tell Matt is out for the count and other than cleaning and dressing his nose, there isn't much more the nurse can do before he wakes up.

After she's finished cleaning his nose, the nurse gives me strict instructions that if Matt wakes up, I'm to fetch her immediately. She leaves without another word, no doubt to fill in a report form for Roger who will undoubtedly want to see me in the morning.

I sit down on the chair next to Matt's bed and bring my knees up to my chest. I know I'm going to be asleep soon, it's almost 11:30. I just hope Matt doesn't think I was behind this, I may not like the guy at the moment, but a broken nose is taking things a bit far.

I never quite noticed how small Matt really is. He's thin and scrawny; he looks like he could do with a few good meals. He looks peaceful even though he's unconscious. His skin is pale, I never really noticed it in the bluish hue of our bedroom.

What am I doing?! I'm staring at him like a lovesick puppy!

I put my head on the bed next to him and think. I think about a lot of stuff, stuff that happened to me when I was a kid, stuff that could have happened to Matt, stuff that doesn't really make sense right now and stuff that I shouldn't be thinking about. I wait for sleep to consume me as one by one I relinquish my conscious senses. The last thing I think I hear is Matt mumbling "Goodnight Mello," Although I can't be sure if I dreamt that or not.


	10. On The Verge Of Insanity

**[[A/N Ok, I will apologise in advance for the epic failing of this chapter both in content and in the (what feels like) millennia it took to get it up here. I'm really, really sorry; I tried to edit it and make it better and succeeded somewhat. Plus side – I'm finally giving you some M/M stuff (I know that's the only reason you've all stuck it out so far ;-) hehe)]]**

**Chapter 10 – On The Verge Of Insanity**

When Matt finally woke up, he saw that he was lying on a bed in the hospital department. Gingerly, he put his hand up to his nose to feel the damage. It had been bandaged up and was obviously broken.

The next thing Matt noticed was that Mello was asleep on a chair with his head resting on Matt's bed. Matt smiled softly as he shock the blonde awake.

"Mello, wake up," he said quietly.

Mello's eyes flickered open slowly and he sat up.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked Matt, sleepily.

"About 5 seconds longer than you, how did I get here?"

Mello bowed his head. "I heard Mark and his friends saying they were going to teach you a lesson and when I went to get chocolate last night, I looked out of the window and saw you walking towards them. I knew something bad was going to happen. By the time I got there they'd pretty much beaten you senseless."

Matt looked at the blonde sceptically.

"Y'know what Matt, believe what you want, I don't care. If I had set this up, do you really think I'd have stopped them from beating you to a pulp? Do you think I would have brought you here? No, I wouldn't have, so if you don't want to believe me, then don't," Mello said as he stood up and walked out of the hospital.

*

When Matt was finally allowed to leave the hospital, he made his way quickly back to his room. He wanted to know why Mello was acting the way he was, after all, Matt hadn't accused him of anything… yet.

Walking in through his bedroom door, Matt saw the blonde sat on his bed reading a book.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Matt asked as he sat down on his bed.

"What'd you mean?" Mello asked, casually turning the pages of his book and continuing to read.

"I mean, you do something nice and then defend yourself against an accusation that hasn't been made, that's not what normal people do, Mello."

"Well when the person I've done a nice thing for looks at me the way you did, yeah, it is what normal people do, Matt," Mello retorted, putting his book down.

"Why the fuck are you being a dick?" Matt yelled at the blonde.

"Me? You put me hospital and I'm the dick?" Mello yelled back. "If you didn't care so much about what I think of you, none of this would have happened."

"I don't care what you think about me, I couldn't care less if you hated me and wanted to kill me! The only reason I tried to be your friend was because L asked me to."

"So if L asked you to stick your hand in a fire, would you do it? I didn't think so. Whoop-de-do, L saved your life, big deal. If you weren't such a pussy, you would have been able to survive on your own!"

Matt stared at the blonde disbelievingly. Taking a few steps towards Mello, Matt growled, "Take that back, now."

"What if don't? What will you do? Hit me?" Mello said, testing the redhead's fiery temper just that little bit more.

Matt pushed Mello against the wall, his hand around the blonde's throat. "I said, take it back," he said a little more dangerously.

"No," Mello whispered, defiantly.

In a move that shocked both involved, Matt crushed his lips against Mello's; anger and rage making the kiss ferocious. Mello's hands found the bottom of Matt's shirt. He gripped it tightly and pulled Matt closer to himself. Matt reciprocated the action by winding his arms around Mello's neck and through his hair. Rage and lust combined in the pair making the kiss passionate and frantic. Inexperience causing it to become clumsy.

As the kiss became more passionate, Mello pulled away slightly for air before reacquainting himself with Matt's lips. Mello let out a small gasp as Matt pulled away and without another word, turned and walked out of the room.

*

A few hours later when Mello had thought Matt would have calmed down enough to return to their room, Mello made his way back. The first thing he noticed was that the curtains were drawn, something Matt very rarely did. The next thing was that there was no dull glare from various computer screens, which meant that Matt hadn't even been in the room.

"Mello," came an apprehensive voice from the hallway. "Have you seen Matt?"

Mello turned to see a worried looking Roger stood by the door.

"No, not since earlier. Why?"

Roger rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Matt's disappeared."


	11. Cold Wind Blows

**[[A/N It's here, finally. If you are still reading this all i can say is thank you so much for sticking with me during a long and rather eventful period of my life. If you aren't, well, I don't blame you.]]**

**Chapter 11 – Cold Wind Blows**

Matt sat shivering under a tree. Why did he run away? More to the point, what was Mello going to say when he got back? It was cold and typically of England, it had started raining. Matt had no money, he had no food, he was running low on cigarettes and the battery on his Game Boy had long since died. As he huddled against the growing wind, he thought back to what had happened between himself and Mello, he sighed. What had come over him? Sure, Mello was good looking, but he wasn't... gay.

Looking around, Matt quickly realised he would have to go back. He wasn't an outdoor person. He had only been gone for a few days and he missed the security of the orphanage, the constant traffic of people, the unvarying noise level as well as the occasional knock at his door. He watched the sun dip behind a hill in the distance and sighed. It would take him a while to get back, if he was even allowed back. He'd never known anyone to leave Wammy's House only to return.

After a few hours, he was back in the Winchester countryside. The rain had stopped and he was soon close to Wammy's. He'd have to explain himself to Roger. What would he say? _'Sorry Roger but I had to leave for a few days because I suddenly realised I'm gay and I couldn't deal with living in the same room as Mello?'_ yeah, right, like that would work.

More importantly, (at least in his head) what would Mello do or say? Would he act like it had never happened? Would he snub him more than he did before? Or would he act on it? Would he be expecting more? Would Matt be willing to give more?

Of course, he already knew the answer. He knew that if Mello wanted him, he'd be there. He'd do anything for him, because as much as he hated to admit it, Mello had helped him. He owed Mello his life in more ways than one. And he knew he'd be there, until his heart stopped beating.

Sighing heavily, Matt opened the large gate, the usual creaking sound gone because of the rain. He walked the long path that lead to the large oak doors and opened them to find Roger stood in the entrance hall.

"Matt, what a pleasant surprise," he said. "Would you like to join me in my office and we'll discuss your re-enrolment."

"How do you know I'm here to re-enrol?" Matt asked suspiciously.

"You've been gone for five days. Batteries on handheld games consoles don't last that long," he replied diligently. "And I remember the camping trip we had a few years ago. You aren't an outdoor person, Matt."

"Fine, let's go discuss my re-enrolment."

A few minutes later, Matt was sat on the opposite side of a mahogany desk to Roger, a hot chocolate in hand and a small plate of biscuits to the side of him.

"You must understand, Matt, that if we accept you back here, you are to be on your best behaviour. No fighting. Being on time to class. Handing in assignments as required. There will be no other warnings. This is the final warning and should you step out of line, or if there is another incident like this, you will be handed over to the authorities as Mail Jeevas. You will no longer be permitted to speak to anyone here; you will not be allowed to access any of the documents or files held at Wammy's House. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Matt replied dipping his head slightly.

"It's late, Drink your hot chocolate, and go to room 3, the guest room. I will have a hot meal brought up to you and tomorrow you will resume classes as normal. You will also share your previous room with Mello. There are to be no complaints."

"Yes sir," Matt repeated monotonously.

**[[It was better than this, but wod randomly decided to shut down on me and fail with the autorecover. R&R and please be nice :D]]**

"Go, your meal will be brought to you within the next half an hour, I expect you're exhausted, so eat, then sleep."


	12. Action and Inaction

**Chapter 12 - Action and Inaction**

The next few days passed mostly without incident. Matt returned to sharing his room with Mello who came back from the library that night to find Matt's computers set up, his DS charging by his bed and the red-head sat on the floor writing a rough draft of an essay that he was meant to have handed in the day after he disappeared. Neither said anything about his sudden reappearance but Mello had to suppress the butterflies he was feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Matt's reappearance in his classes however, did not go as unnoticed. Their first class the next morning, English Literature was so disrupted the teacher finally gave up and gave them a free period to get everything out of their systems. Matt had responded by putting in his headphones and completely ignoring everyone, choosing instead to finish his essay.

Soon, most, if not all, the students at Wammy's had realised that Matt simply wasn't going to talk to anyone about what had occurred and why he had left or why he had come back. This obviously lead to a lot of whispering behind the redhead's back and whenever Mello heard someone contemplating some wild theory he had to try very hard not to laugh.

All in all, Matt had become a lot more reserved since his return to Wammy's House and Mello couldn't help but notice the change yet he felt powerless as to what to do. In the end, he decided that the best course of action would be to allow Matt to return to his old self in his own time, and if he needed Mello, then he would be there.

But Matt didn't seem to need Mello. He didn't seem to need anybody. And after a while, Mello wasn't the only one who had noticed a change. Matt had never been very social, he talked to people and he knew people but he had never been close to anyone in all his time at Wammy's, but now it seemed he deliberately went out of his way to avoid people. At meal times, he would have only a bag of chips or a slice of pizza and after quickly throwing it down his throat would leave only to go to his room where the only person he would bump into would be Mello. He never answered if someone knocked the door, preferring for them to think no one was in or to let Mello answer and he wore his goggles and headphones constantly when not in class, and even then only the latter would be removed. He had even stopped smoking to the extent of only having one or two early in the morning when everyone else was still in bed. Roger had noticed the sudden change in Matt and was contemplating what to do when Mello had come to see him.

"Something's wrong with him," Mello said as he barged into Roger's office and sat down on the sofa against the wall.

"I assume you're referring to Matt?" Roger replied, not looking up from his paperwork and making it quite clear to Mello that he was not to just let himself into Roger's office.

"No, the damn toothfairy. Of course Matt, who else would I be talking about?" Mello replied angrily.

"Mello, I understand your concern..."

"My concern?" Mello repeated. "I'm not concerned, that would imply just a slight worry. I'm fucking terrified. What the hell happened to him?"

"There is nothing to worry about," Roger replied. "This is simply Matt's way of making sure he stays out of trouble."

"Yeah? Well, I don't buy it." Mello stood up and headed towards the door, pulling it open. "And if you aren't going to help him I will."

**[[A/N Wow... this story pretty much hit the water didn't it. Well, here's an update. My muses are visiting, and I persuaded them to stop by for tea while I wrote this. Honestly I don't know what to think of it. It just sort of came out. Reviews are welcome, as always =] and thank you for bearing with me, it has been a very turbulent 3 years.]] **


	13. Extra Baggage

**[[A/N Yes! There's anther update! I will warn you all that the next chapter will be the last, I have finished it in fewer chapters than I had originally planned but then again, I didn't expect over a years break between updates either. Once again thank you to everyone who is reading this or has read this. Reviews would be greatly appreciated since it's been a while since I wrote any DN related stuff and I think I'm more than a bit rusty.]]  
**

**Chapter 13 - Extra Baggage**

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mello asked as he stormed into his shared bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

"Nothing," Matt replied as he continued to type at his computer.

"You've barely said two words since you got back. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Matt repeated as he opened a drawer on his desk and began rooting around inside.

Mello strode over to the desk and slammed the drawer, almost catching Matt's fingers.

"Jesus Christ," Matt yelled indignantly. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Tell me the truth."

Mello glared at Matt. Matt glared back.

Mello's expression became softer, Matt's, more wary.

"Please," Mello whispered. "Please tell me."

Matt's eyes began darting around the room, looking for his escape. Mello slowly placed his hands on either side of Matt's face, effectively stopping him from doing anything other than looking at the blonde.

"Matt," Mello started.

Matt knew what was coming. He had dreamt of the different scenarios since he got back, but funnily enough, he hadn't contemplated this one.

Mello leant forward slowly, gazing into Matt's eyes, giving him every opportunity to stop him but he never did. Instead he put a hand on the back of Mello's head and pulled him closer to close the gap, to seal the kiss.

A tender moment passed and slowly, the blonde let his hands drop from Matt's face. Matt's hand ran down the side of Mello's neck before he pulled away.

"What happened?" Mello breathed.

Matt closed his eyes.

"It was like I was back there." He said quietly, his hands balling into fists on his lap. "It was like I was seven years old and waiting for my father all over again. But back then, Kai would save me. Kai would protect me. And then you were there. And you saved me, and you protected me. I couldn't deal with that. I couldn't understand why until I left. Then I realised that someone may care. I used to think that I was bad luck. That anyone I let come to close would get hurt the same way. So I stopped caring. I know a lot of people, but I haven't had a friend in the four years since I came here. Then you came along and all of a sudden I have these feelings that maybe someone can get close without being hurt and it scared me. Then... that happened and I didn't know how to deal with it, so I did the same thing I did the last time I didn't know how to deal with something. I ran away. But this time I had somewhere to go back to. But I was determined not to hurt anyone so I decided to keep to myself, not to talk to people and to get on with my work. But I couldn't ignore you forever, especially not when you're right in front of me."

"Matt, no one is going to hurt me. Least of all you. You need to stop thinking that you can deal with everything by yourself; you need to share the load when it gets too heavy to carry."

Matt looked into Mello's blue eyes. "When you've been carrying the load for so long on your own, you forget you have it, until something else gets added."


	14. Together, Four Years Later

**[[A/N This is it. The final chapter. As I have said before, thank you all so much. It's been a hard few years but I'm bouncing back and hopefully will be publishing more DN fics soon]]  
**

**Chapter 14 - Together, Four Years Later  
**

"Hey, Mello, can you come here for a second?"

"Jesus Christ Matt, what is it? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Matt suppressed a grin and called back, "it'll just take a second, I promise."

Mello stalked into the bedroom of their three room apartment and sighed. "What?" he asked as he stood in the doorway, ready to resume what he had been doing.

Matt stood up and walked over to him. There was only an inch or so difference in their heights but nevertheless, Matt made a point of standing on his toes.

"I love you," he said as he kissed the blonde.

Mello pulled away slowly. He wore a smile on his face and he tried to make himself sound angry. "Is that it?" he asked.

"Yep," said Matt as he returned to his computer.

"Love you too," Mello said as he walked back to the sitting room.

They'd been together for a long time now. Even longer, unofficially. Mello had said one night that Matt was his from the moment he saw him. Matt had replied that Mello was his from the moment he had broken the blonde's nose.

Officially it was only after they had both left Wammy's they had decided to become a couple although after Matt's short leave and subsequent return to Wammy's the rumours had started and were fuelled mostly by both boys refusing to comment on the subject. When Mello had left shortly before his 15th birthday, Matt had been tempted to go too. Only Roger's insistence that he stayed to complete his compulsory education stopped him. Matt went back to having his own room, not really talking to anyone and playing a lot of video games and the next summer he had told Roger that enough was enough and he was leaving. That was that, end of story. He had spent most of the next year attempting to track down Mello by various means and had found him in the US. His next problem was getting there. Then, on December 12th he turned up outside a small apartment complex, determined to knock each and every door until he found the blonde, only to be stopped by a shout from a room above and to move aside quickly enough not to get hit by a man who had evidently been pushed from the window. Mello hadn't pushed him, of course, but it was certainly something he would have done. Matt knocked the door of the apartment and was faced by several burly men with guns. It was only when Mello heard his name in a familiar voice that he ordered them all to stand down and made his way to the door before grabbing Matt in a rib-crushing hug and demanding to know how he had been found.

Then, after several accidents, Matt and Mello had left the mafia, although there wasn't much left of them when they did, and they had set off on their own.

They hadn't stayed together out of necessity, they had stayed together because they wanted to. Mello wanted Matt to share his life and Matt wanted Mello to stay with him so he never had to go back to that dark place he had visited briefly, four years ago.

They lived together. They ate together. They slept together. And one day, one day soon, they would die together.

END

**[[A/N So, that's that. Was it worth the wait? I doubt it. But it's an ending and everyone knows that that's the most important part of a story. R&R please you shall get cyber-hugs and lotsa loves]]**


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